Archive for the Save Dollhouse Category

Bow and arrow

Posted in <3, Save Dollhouse, Saving Dollhouse with tags , , , on October 29, 2010 by toresimonsen

I wrote the scripts for Eliza Dushku. I love her and they were meant as a gift to her. I asked her to marry me. She did not say no, but she did not say yes.

The attempt to save Dollhouse, for Eliza Dushku, failed.

I tried every method I knew or could think of to try to save Dollhouse. I tried everything from handing out fliers and collecting signature petitions to internet organizing. I tried to get help from a lot of people. Some people were willing to help save Dollhouse, while others were very reluctant.

Room 202 Meeting Room

The effort to express my love required enormous sacrifices. Losing my car was only the beginning. I lost many friends and even ended relationships with family members. I found myself railroaded in mental health facilities and without support from allies. Love is madness. This simple fact was understood and accepted thousands of years ago. Even in the Illiad, Homer wrote, “O immortal madness, why do you have this craving to seduce me?” Today, this is lost on us.

I became homeless. In some respects, this was a good thing. I have a better sense of who is my friend and who will be there when I need them. I also have a better sense of my capabilities.

Many people did support me. Some of these people, I have been able to thank. Others, I have not been able to thank, in part because they have supported me in ways I do not know. Do not think I do not appreciate that.

I was disappointed by the recent judicial decision in the legal challenge I brought. It is not the first time a judicial decision has not gone my way. However, it left me unable to justify the continued investment in my bar membership. In other years, I found a way to justify continuing to pay my dues, despite the lack of financial return. I no longer feel that such an investment is justified.

In any event, I did what I could do.

This is not the first time I have failed in a campaign.

This is not the first time my legal opinions have been ignored.

Still, I cannot help but feel the arrow of every regret. An effort like this recalls every failure and shortcoming of one’s entire life. I found myself haunted by the ghost of every mistake I ever made. Nevertheless, I pressed on.

I tested the limits of freedom and love and discovered there was not enough of either of them.

There remains the question of what to do next. For me, at this point, love is simply out of the question. Love asks, “What are you willing to give?” I gave everything, so I have nothing left to give. There are so many beautiful and intelligent women worth appreciating, but none that I can love. Consolation, but not love. I find myself exhausted. November is coming.

I will also take a break from blogging. I find the experience invites too many negative elements into it. (I know, dear Krishna, that where there’s fire there’s smoke, but I need to breathe.)

I find myself without inspiration and simply continue to do things in a rather joyless manner. My scripts sit behind glass.

Joss Whedon Autographed Unofficial Script from Comic-con

Posted in <3, Save Dollhouse, Saving Dollhouse with tags , , , , , on August 7, 2010 by toresimonsen

Here is a photograph of the Joss Whedon autographed unofficial 4th script. The scripts were written by me for Eliza Dushku.

Mosaic of Expression – Full Circle

Posted in Save Dollhouse with tags , , , , on May 2, 2010 by toresimonsen

It has been a busy few days trying to save Dollhouse.

The MNGOP held its convention at the Convention center. I conducted outreach to save Dollhouse. Among the people I met was Tom Emmer’s cousin, who is working hard for Tom Emmer’s campaign for governor. (I believe a certain politician from Delano came out to meet supporters.) I took a photo of the signers with my webcam, but as you can see, it’s a bit more difficult than utilizing my currently MIA Canon IS780 digital camera.

MNGOP State Convention at Convention Center

On May Day it was another series of events. I headed toward the SEIU rally on immigration reform. On the way, I ran into some very cheerful activists who were promoting marijuana legalization. An issue based candidate named Chris Wright is running for Governor under the grassroots party.

I was in the area conducting outreach to save Dollhouse. For the most part, people at the rally seemed receptive to Dollhouse. I even met someone who remembered me from my outreach near the Griggs building in St. Paul last year.

After that, it was off to MLK park on 41st and Nicollet. The walk was longer than I expected, but I arrived in time for the beginning of the march. People are protesting SB1070 in Arizona and calling for immigration reform.

I ended up at the rally in time for the start and walked with the marchers back to the convention center promoting Dollhouse.

I spoke briefly to a reporter from the Uptake who was busy trying to find a single person in support of SB1070. He said there was one pro-SB1070 person shadowing the rally.

Along the way, I met people who were targetting Tom Emmer for his support of the SB1070 immigration efforts in Arizona. I had come full circle.

Over the course of these days, there were many different viewpoints being expressed. The only unifying thread in any of this appears to be the democratic exercise of the freedom of expression- the matrix of democracy.

My goal is to save Dollhouse.

Please help save Dollhouse.

Please sign the e-petition.


Save Dollhouse by signing the TNT petition online to save Dollhouse.

Please send emails.


Save Dollhouse by sending TNT EMAILS to save Dollhouse.

Please sign the Twitition.

The twitition to save Dollhouse is here!

PLEASE!!!! Let other people know about the efforts to save the show.

My goal is to save Dollhouse.

Posted in Dollhouse and censorship, Dollhouse and homeless, Save Dollhouse, Saving Dollhouse with tags , , , , on April 28, 2010 by toresimonsen

I attended the Minnesota House committee meeting at Health Care and Human Services Finance Division. There was extensive testimony, much from institutional players, about the proposed changes to the MFIP funding and more.

I am homeless. I am not receiving GA, but I took the opportunity to testify. I focused on the deprivations of fundamental rights and censorship threats to democracy.

You can watch my testimony here.

I am uploading the video to Dailymotion.

I mentioned my interaction with other political figures, specifically Rep. Tim Walz and Gubenetorial candidate Margaret Anderson Kelliher. Those stories can be found on my post on unconventional politics.

As I summarized in my testimony, my goal is to save Dollhouse.

Please help save Dollhouse.

Please sign the e-petition.


Save Dollhouse by signing the TNT petition online to save Dollhouse.

Please send emails.


Save Dollhouse by sending TNT EMAILS to save Dollhouse.

Please sign the Twitition.

The twitition to save Dollhouse is here!

PLEASE!!!! Let other people know about the efforts to save the show.

MFIP Cuts? GA safe for now.

Posted in Dollhouse and homeless, Dollhouse and Jobs, Save Dollhouse, Saving Dollhouse on April 26, 2010 by toresimonsen

As regular readers know, I am not currently on GA. In my case, it does not seem necessary.

I found out today that the House Health and Human Services Finance Committee released its proposed budget. I heard about this by chance while at Central Lutheran Church. There was a table with flyers. I picked one up.

I decided to head over to the capital. Getting there was not easy. I had to pay for a bus fare to get to the capital. I am not sure how many people in a similar situation will be able to get to the capital. The Basillica would not provide tokens to get to the capital and there did not appear to be any coordinated effort to get people from Minneapolis there. For example, the organizers from Stand Together Minnesota focused on outreach at drop-in centers in St. Paul.

There are some budget cuts coming. At the time being, the current budget proposes no cuts to the $203 general assistance program. In a somewhat unusual move, the cuts are being made to the MFIP program which supports families.

The MFIP program is being impacted. The current proposal is to cut $9.5 million from MFIP. The eligibility requirements for MFIP have been reduced to 110% from 115% (so you must be poorer to qualify). There is also a reduction in asset values. Cars can only be valued up to $7,500. The old limit was $15,000.

A handful of people wearing supportive stickers regarding MFIP were walking around the capital.

Public testimony on the proposed cuts is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. at the capital tomorrow.

As for me, I spent most of my time to try to conduct outreach to save Dollhouse. I handed out materials to various people at the capital about Dollhouse.

Galen Robinson talks unallotment at Drinking Liberally

Posted in Dollhouse and homeless, Save Dollhouse, Saving Dollhouse with tags , , , on April 10, 2010 by toresimonsen

At Drinking Liberally, the guest speaker was legal aid lawyer Galen Robinson. Galen Robinson recently argued the unallotment case before the Supreme Court.

Legal aid lawyers filed a class action on behalf of poor people who would be harmed by cuts to specific programs through Governor Tim Pawlenty’s use of unallotment. The lawyers filed a class action on behalf of the poor who would be irreparable harmed by reductions in government assistance. Unlike my case, Galen’s case has proceeded very rapidly.

Galen Robinson emphasized the importance of access to justice, the separation of powers, and the irreparable harm that would flow from unconstitutional actions.

Galen also talked about an increasingly polarized political system in which people are no longer talking to each other and the difficulties this causes. Galen was concerned that politicians are not making tough decisions, but were sidestepping these hard choices. One such example, was the use of unallotment.

Galen also spoke about the difficulty of forcing courts to come to terms with constitutional questions. According to Galen, courts try to find ways not to address these issues.

Galen Robinson acknowledged the help he received from amicus briefs as well as other lawyers. What began as a lonely quest, eventually snowballed into a huge coalition of legal forces aimed at challenging the governor’s use of the unallotment provision.

A decision in the case is expected soon. Here is a series of videos about his speech at Drinking Liberally. The equipment I am using is not ideal for coverage of these events. It is what I have to work with. (Hey, I’m a homeless blogger- what do you expect?)

Youtube forced me to break the video into 7 seperate parts- 10 minute cap.

Part 1.

Part 2.

Part 3.

Part 4.

Part 5.

Part 6.

Part 7.

Please let people know about the efforts to save the show.

Sign the e-petition.


Save Dollhouse by signing the TNT petition online to save Dollhouse.

Send emails.


Save Dollhouse by sending TNT EMAILS to save Dollhouse.

Sign the Twitition.

The twitition to save Dollhouse is here!

Please let other people know about the efforts to save the show.

This is What Democracy Looks Like.

Posted in <3, Dollhouse and censorship, Save Dollhouse, Saving Dollhouse with tags , , , on April 7, 2010 by toresimonsen

As a homeless blogger conducting outreach to save Dollhouse for Eliza Dushku today, I believe I ran into Ralph Reed at the Minneapolis Convention center. (Media reports place Ralph Reed at the event). The Sarah Palin Michelle Bachmann rally was going on at the convention center along with the NCEA event. I was trying to conduct outreach to save the television show Dollhouse and asking everyone for their support. Outside, I also spoke with protestors to save Dollhouse.

(The other person has been tenatively identified as John Helmberger, CEO of the Minnesota Family Council.)

Take a look at the video and decide for yourself.

Please let people know about the efforts to save the show.

Sign the e-petition.


Save Dollhouse by signing the TNT petition online to save Dollhouse.

Send emails.


Save Dollhouse by sending TNT EMAILS to save Dollhouse.

Sign the Twitition.

The twitition to save Dollhouse is here!

Please let other people know about the efforts to save the show.

Wish

Posted in <3, Dollhouse and homeless, Save Dollhouse, Saving Dollhouse on April 1, 2010 by toresimonsen

I love Eliza. I’ve said it before- many many many times.

I put together a short video request for help.

Please let people know about the efforts to save the show. (The good news is that the episode Epitaph One was nominated for a Hugo Award. Ironically, it was an unaired episode.) It is definitely worth watching.

Sign the e-petition.


Save Dollhouse by signing the TNT petition online to save Dollhouse.

Send emails.


Save Dollhouse by sending TNT EMAILS to save Dollhouse.

Sign the Twitition.

The twitition to save Dollhouse is here!

Please let other people know about the efforts to save the show.

About last night.

Posted in <3, Dollhouse and homeless, Save Dollhouse, Saving Dollhouse with tags , on March 31, 2010 by toresimonsen

I spent the night at Safe Bay last night. The night went better than expected but there was no shortage of homeless drama. There was an unfortunate incident in which one homeless person complained to staff about the stench emanating another homeless individual. (Again, it is not surprising people do not want to shower at Safe Bay). Staff intervened. Under such circumstances, the policy is apparently to require the individual to shower.

The shelter was still very crowded. It is two days past project homeless connect and the floor mats seem very crowded. I am surprised more people are not camping out.

Dinner was served at 6 pm, but I missd it. There are no “save” plates at Safe Bay, so if you miss dinner, you are out of luck.

You can get a blanket if you leave some form of id with them, but I opted to sleep on my coats instead. I have two winter coats which I am carrying around for just such situations.

It was very crowded at SafeBay. I arrived late enough not to have to stand too long in the line where they randomly search all of the bags. However, by the time I got past the security checkpoint, I had to stand for quite a while in the line to get an assigned mat.

After getting mat #37, I settled my things in. There was the usual commotion going on around me. Early in the night, there was the typical monologue to no one. This is the type of speech people seem to give to no one in particular. One homeless gentleman spent about fifteen minutes just expressing himself while others tried to shut him up.

Eventually, it gets a bit quieter. There are fewer discussions. I’m sleeping with all of my things on my mattress. I arrange it so that a backpack is stuffed full of clothes to create a makeshift pillow.

I get some sleep, awoken by the occasional disturbance or sound of a snoring neighbor. With so many people, there are bound to be sleep disturbances. Morning comes and I change into some clean clothes. I head over the bathroom to brush my teeth, but the bathroom is extremely crowded. One of the sinks is broken, leaving us with only two functional sinks. Of the two remaining sinks, one of the sinks is missing its handle making it difficult to operate. The conditions create tensions in the bathroom as people are noticeably edgier than they should be.

After brushing my teeth, I take my three packed bags and head over to the main lobby of Harbor Lights to eat breakfast (choice of a bowl of grits, a bowl of oatmeal or a bowl of cereal). I arrive at 6:20 a.m. which gives me only ten minutes to eat. I opt for the oatmeal. I’ve never liked the grits. One small bowl of cereal is hardly enough. The two volunteers serving food seem exhausted and the line moves very slowly. Eventually, I get a bowl of oatmeal with five minutes to eat it. Mandatory exit is at 6:30 a.m. and I leave accordingly.

After that, I depart for the Skyways. It is much to early to go anywhere. I spend an hour just lounging around and talking to another homeless person.

Carrying so many things around, I try to find simple destinations to hang out. I will not be mobile again until I find the occassion to store some of my things. Finally, I work my way over to the Hennepin County Government Center to go to the law library.

In the meantime, I need help saving Dollhouse. While I am sleeping in a homeless shelter and trying to conduct outreach to save the show, all that I am asking people is to sign some petitions, send some emails and to tell people about the efforts to save the show.

Please tell your friends (through Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Twitter) about the efforts to save the show.

Here are the links to save the show:


Save Dollhouse by signing the TNT petition online to save Dollhouse.


Save Dollhouse by sending TNT EMAILS to save Dollhouse.

The twitition to save Dollhouse is here!

Homeless Connections.

Posted in 1, Dollhouse and homeless, Dollhouse and Jobs, Save Dollhouse, Saving Dollhouse with tags on March 29, 2010 by toresimonsen

I attended project Homeless Connect at the Minneapolis Convention center. It began at 10:00 a.m. I got there about 10:15 a.m.

There were many happy volunteers, social service agencies, and government workers in attendance.

I stood in line for a while to get assigned a guide. It is a typical role for a volunteer. Usually, they do a short intake in which they asked you the same tired questions and then try to figure out what you will need. My guide was a very nice young woman who was studying public health issues and looking for a new job this summer. We parted ways at lunch, in part, because I knew that too many services would not be forthcoming and her volunteer opportunity could be more productive with someone else.

As my stay at Our Savior shelter ends tonight, securing some kind of housing was my first priority. I already knew that housing issues would not likely get resolved. Too many programs require either mental illness or chemical dependency problems to get into. Others programs requires some kind of government assistance to qualify for. One odd pre-requisite for assisstance is the one that requires at least one year of homelessness. As expected, nothing was going to work for me. I spoke to Robert from Simpson shelter and explained I would go to the lottery to try to win a waitlist spot tonight.

Discussions with the William Mitchell legal clinic proved more fruitful. In my discussions with legal clinic staff, they made several constructive suggestions for handling a specific issue.

Volunteers from Willliam Mitchell Law School

Even more interesting is the possibility that one organization said they might have the discretionary funds to pay my parking ticket in Los Angeles. I cannot imagine that my parking tickets are greater than other peoples needs.

I got a very nice haircut from Pam who works at a salon in General Mills. I had to wait hours to get my haircut, but finally they worked me into the rotation. Scissor cuts moved faster than buzz cuts. I also reminded people that Tracy Muse is cutting hair at St. Stephen’s shelter. Tracy is cutting hair on Mondays starting at 3:30 pm. He only takes up to 6 people, so sign up and get there early.

Technology issues remain a mixed bag. Margaret from Branch 3 employment center informed me that the computer situation has not changed. (I left her with Linux distros on CDs for anyone who wants to install them on an old laptop- be sure to back up your files.) Ed from TCVM indicated no progress has been made on the internet cafe idea, but it is still being kicked around.

On site at Project homeless connect, a computer lab was set up for making resumes. It was constantly busy. As for internet access, the on site internet cafe closed early. It was supposed to be in the room next to the telephones.

The job fair had a handful of employers there. Doherty Staffing solutions, Hilton Minneapolis, Hyatt Regency, Kraus Anderson Construction company, the Mall of America, Marquette Hotel, and Sheraton Hotel had a presence at the site. Not too many employers in light of the number of homeless people in attendance.

On the transportation front, the MTC did not provide any free bus fares or cards. One bright spot, Minneapolis Public Schools did have some one fare rides in the Education section.

As for me, the sad truth is that I will not, in all likelihood, have adequate shelter beginning tomorrow. The emergency shelters at Tramp Camp and Harbor lights are only good for staying warm- not good sleep or showering.

The lottery did not go well last night. The place was brimming with unmet needs, despite the project homeless connect earlier in the day. At present, I am only eligible for waitlist stays because you become ineligible after each 28 day stay for a period of 28 days. I attended the lottery and did not get on the waitlist.

I spent my last night at OurSavior and must now return to the emergency shelters (either Tramp Camp, Dorothy Day in St. Paul, or SafeBay). None of these options is good. There is no locker in SafeBay or Tramp Camp on the first floor making it a risky environment. At the same time, I find the showers inadequate at these locations. I currently have all of my things packed around with me. I can store a few items at Our Savior, but not until 6pm. I had to do my laundry before obtaining storage- no point in not having clean clothes or storing dirty ones. (As regular readers know, locker storage is a critical unmet need for homeless people.)

Of course, I conducted as much outreach as I could under the circumstances. Thank you to all who listened.
Please help save Dollhouse.

Here are the links to save the show:


Save Dollhouse by signing the TNT petition online to save Dollhouse.


Save Dollhouse by sending TNT EMAILS to save Dollhouse.

The twitition to save Dollhouse is here!

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